Congo war lord surrenders at US Embassy in Kigali

Washington: A Rwandan born Congolese general, wanted for war crimes in Congo has surrendered at the US Embassy in Kigali, a State Department spokesperson confirmed.

"I can confirm that this morning Bosco Ntaganda, an ICC indictee and leader of one of the M23 factions walked into US Embassy Kigali. He specifically asked to be transferred to the ICC (International Criminal Court) in The Hague," the State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland said.

"We`re currently consulting with a number of governments, including the Rwandan government, in order to facilitate his request," she said.

The US had no advance information of this that he would plan to walk in. "It sounds like it was something that happened this morning, and we are endeavoring to meet his request," she added.

"We want to facilitate that request. As you know, we strongly support the work that the ICC is doing to investigate the atrocities committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and we are going to continue to work with the ICC in this matter," she said in response to a question.
Military chief of staff of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), an armed militia group operating in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ntaganda is a former member of the Rwandan Patriotic Army and allegedly a former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC).
He is wanted by the ICC for the war crimes of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of fifteen and using them to participate actively in hostilities.